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Who thinks $5K speaker cable really better than generic 14AWG cable?

I recently ordered high end speaker, power amp, and preamp to be installed in couple more weeks. So the next search are interconnect and speaker cable. After challenging the dealer and 3 of my so called audiophile friends, I think the only reason I would buy expensive cable is for its appearance to match with the high end gears but not for sound performance. I personally found out that $5K cable vs $10 cable are no difference, at least not to our ears. Prior to this, I was totally believe that cable makes a difference but not after this and reading few articles online.

Here is how I found out.

After the purchase of my system, I went to another dealer to ask for cable opinion (because the original dealer doesn't carry the brand I want) and once I told him my gears, he suggested me the high end expensive cable ranging from $5 - 10K pair, depending on length. He also suggested the minimum length must be 8-12ft. If longer than 12ft, I should upgrade to even more expensive series. So I challenged him that if he can show me the difference, I would purchase all 7 AQ Redwood cables from him.

It's a blind test and I would connect 3 different cables - 1 is the Audioquest Redwood, 1 is Cardas Audio Clear, and 1 my own generic 14AWG about 7ft. Same gears, same source, same song..... he started saying the first cable sound much better, wide, deep, bla...bla...bla......and second is decently good...bla...bla...bla.. and the last one sounded crappy and bla...bla...bla... BUT THE REALITY, I NEVER CHANGED THE CABLE, its the same 14AWG cable. I didn't disclosed and move on to second test. I told him I connected audioquest redwood but actually 14AWG and he started to praise the sound quality and next one I am connected the 14awg but actually is Redwood and he started to give negative comment. WOW!!!! Just blew me right off.

I did the same test with 3 of my audiophile friends and they all have difference inputs but no one really got it right. Especially the part where I use same generic 14awg cable and they all start to give different feedback!!!

SO WHAT DO YOU ALL THINK? OR I AM THE LAST PERSON TO FIND OUT THAT EXPENSIVE CABLE JUST A RIP OFF?
sautan904
nordicnorm
313 posts
 
I was curious about higher-end cables as well, so I auditioned a pair of Teo Audio ICs ("Game Changer"), their entry level IC ($500). Teo offers a money-back guarantee and are located in the same city as I live, so I figured if it didn’t produce any noticeable effect, I would only be out my time spent critically listening to my system (never a wasted past time).

I hooked up the Teo ICs between my preamp and amp.The improvement was dramatic and immediately noticeable. The decay of notes became much more distinct and individual. I was not prepared for such huge improvement. It was night & day.

I have since replaced all my ICs with Teo Audio Game Changer.

Likewise, I recently upgraded my speaker cables from Grant Fidelity SPC-2.5 5n ($95) to Pierre Gabriel PGS-L2 ($1,200). While the change wasn’t as dramatic as with the Teo Audio ICs, there was still a noticeable improvement.

Would $5,000 speaker cables provide that much more an improvement? I dunno? I have a modest mid-fi system (listed below), so the law of diminishing returns will probably start to kick in right away. I would like to try a pair of $5,000 speaker cables at some point, just to see if I could hear a difference.

My mid-fi system consists of:

Golden Tube Audio SE-40 Special Edition monoblocks (highly modded)
Esoteric DV-50S SACD
Roksan Xerxes turntable (rebuilt plinth and external power supply)
RB300 tonearm (with Incognito re-wire, Audio Origami SOFC external cable and Michell technoweight)
London Decca Super Gold cartridge
Croft RIAA phono stage
Gustard x20Pro DAC (modded)
Singxer SU-1 USB DDC (modded)
Asus VivoPC (running JRiver)
Martin Logan Spire (w/BC68 power cords)
12 ga. DIY power cords
dynaquest4's avatar
dynaquest4
445 posts
 

Nordicnorm said: “I hooked up the Teo ICs between my preamp and amp. The improvement was dramatic and immediately noticeable. The decay of notes became much more distinct and individual. I was not prepared for such huge improvement. It was night & day.” 

 I’d opine that if the new IC’s made a “huge” and “dramatic” and “night and day” improvement, you must have been using very old, beat-up, falling apart RCA pairs that were smeared with butter and Cheetoes. 

An upgrade to expensive wire should make no difference as long as you were previously using Monoprice quality cables or better. Even those that believe that expensive wire can make differences mostly agree that the improvements are subtle. 

Are you by chance a dealer of these products?


dlcockrum's avatar
dlcockrum
2,190 posts
 
...and then the dark cloud of gloom descends...

Dave
ctsooner's avatar
ctsooner
2,480 posts
 
I totally disagree with just subtle differences.  It depends on what your system is.  Mine is very highly resolving and when I put the Audioquest Horizon balanced interconnect in (it's the same cable as the WEL which is about 9k a meter I believe or something like that), I heard a HUGE difference.  So did my wife and daughter who aren't audiophiles and had NO CLUE that I was able to get a pair, lmao.
dlcockrum's avatar
dlcockrum
2,190 posts
 
Wasting valuable energy, ctsooner. You know, I know, everyone who has experience with high resolution audio equipment knows that cables have a big impact on sound quality.

I am currently reading a biography of Mike Huckabee. The author actually writes about Paul Klipsch (he built the Klipsch factory in Huckabee's home town after WWII) very favorably and intelligently. As he states, Klipsch was a genius and could have easily pursued almost any endeavor, but chose audio.

The author also quotes Theodore Roosevelt: "It is not the critic that counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood..."

George Carlin once said, "Never argue with an idiot. They will bring you down to their level and beat you with experience." Nuff said.

Dave 
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